What are the Barriers to Growth for Trampoline Parks?

What are the Barriers to Growth for Trampoline Parks?

As part of the research we collected at the IATP trade show in May 2017 we also looked at barriers to growth for trampoline parks. The growth of parks has been phenomenal over these last few years and…

The question we asked was as follows:

What are the barriers to growth for trampoline parks?

Location is Key!

I think the key thing is location. People are very aware that opening a park in any location won’t do. There’s too much competition in some areas. The challenge is finding the right site in the right area that is not too overcrowded or has too much competition. You need to consider the location and who you can partner with.Harvey Jenkinson, Co-Owner, Gravity Trampoline Parks

The market is growing so fast at the moment. You see 4 parks for example in Cardiff. The expansion and rate at which it is going will mean that some parks will have to look at what they are offer so they can successfully compete. The other thing that has always been an issue with growth that I don’t think will change any time soon is from the planning perspective. Getting the D2 planning is often really tricky especially in the North East (of England). Getting planning in the North East is very tricky just because of the planning policies that are in place.Louis Freeman, Business Development Manager, Jump 360

Opportunities in the UK?

Saturation. Its fast approaching if it hasn’t already approached the saturation mark. In some areas there is an over saturation of the market. There are still opportunities in the UK without a doubt but they are few and far between. These barriers include getting the right location in the right places. I think it is particularly difficult for new entrants down to the fact that there are already so many established park operators out there who are looking over their shoulders for new sites. To try and set yourself apart with a point of differentiation is probably I’d say nigh on impossible.Michelle Ball & Matthew Ball, Managing Directors, Jump Nation

The weather is a factor. Our park is fully climatised so if its 42 degree outside it is 22 inside and if its minus 8 degrees outside its 22 inside our park so we control that. What can stop growth is the size of your park. You can only be as the big as the park you have so it’s being innovative with the park you have. If you have good ceiling heights, you can put some activities like you have in some parks to maximise the space they have.Christian Short, Indoor 45 (France)

Market saturation. The market has moved at such a pace in the UK, a staggering pace, as we will have over 200 parks by the end of this year. Market saturation is going to be the main constraining factor in the growth of the industry in the UK.Peter Brown, Managing Director, Freedome Trampoline Parks

Tremendous Growth in Certain Markets

There has been such a rapid growth in the market and in the UK especially. I think we will get to the point, not to saturation as such but I feel that some operators perhaps moved into the market to make a quick bit of money will move out. Those people that haven’t go the appetite or don’t see it at as a long term business, you will start to see them moving on. The companies that see it as a long term business, that want to commit to making it a safe and good environment for children and adults across the UK, those are the ones that will prosper and people will start to see the different qualities in parks. I think it happens with different ‘facilities’ as you launch. Customers will initially flock to the new facilities and after repeated visits they will work out which ones are the quality parks and which ones offer the best service. Customer service and quality of park are going to shine through as it reaches a point of saturation.Lewis Thompson, National Operations and Business Manager, Better Extreme

It has been such an interesting ride since 2011 when we started in the United States with 35 parks that we could identify. Now the growth is around 1,000 parks worldwide. As the market becomes more saturated growth will obviously have to slow a bit but we are going to see tremendous growth throughout Europe in 2017 and 2018 but there is a lot of competition. The other barriers are more regulatory so certain countries in Europe will have restrictions on what people can and can’t do so it’s a little more difficult for them to open parks.Bethany Evans, Executive Vice President of IATP